Underground Construction - October 2020 - 6

EDITOR'S LOG

Robert Carpenter | Editor-in-Chief

Bright Spots and the MVP is ...

Whatever happened to stability, consistency and prosperity in our industry?
These are treacherous times indeed for the
underground infrastructure markets.
We all know about the negative impacts
the coronavirus has brought to the workplace. The fallout continues to befuddle
market estimates and outlooks. Coupled
with political divisiveness, anti-fossil fuel
fanaticism and social unrest, getting an
accurate handle of market directions seems
like nothing more than a crapshoot.
The crash of the oil market and natural
gas selling way too cheap in an oversupplied market has been well-documented,
but even alternative energy stalwarts like
wind power and solar energy have suffered
greatly during the pandemic.
The radical - and generally unfounded
- attacks on oil and gas pipeline work continue unabated, but other underground
infrastructure elements are suffering
equally from a plethora of factors. For
example, U.S. municipal and government
sewer and water infrastructure organizations are expected to lose roughly
$27 billion as a result of the coronavirus
pandemic. User fees dropped like a rock
when retail and manufacturing businesses
either shut down or scaled back operations. Combine that with greatly reduced
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OCTOBER 2020 | UCONonline.com

local sales taxes, and it's easy to see why
cities are cutting budgets
With all this facing our markets, it is
easy to fall into an attitude of gloom and
despair. But, in spite of the worrisome
trends, bright spots remain for underground markets.
Underground Construction's resident
expert on utility infrastructure economies,
FMI Capital Advisors Managing Director
Daniel Shumate, made some excellent
observations regarding the condition of
underground infrastructure in his column
beginning on page 12. As he's begun to
travel the country and interact with utility
contractors and owners, Shumate has been
encouraged by what he's learned.
"The general sentiment is positive and
optimistic," said Shumate. "This does not
minimize the real challenges that people
have faced that contracted the virus or the
incredible decisions that owners and managers have made to protect their workforce.
It speaks to the resilience of an industry
that understands the importance of the
work to the daily lives of Americans.
"We have also seen significant efforts in
the communication space as the workplace
and schools rely on technology more than
ever," Shumate continued. "It is the fiber
backbone that makes all of it possible.
While the outlook past December of 2020 is
foggy for those that rely on public funding,
the industry has weathered this storm well."
It's tough to know how markets will respond over the last quarter and into 2021.
Much is hanging on the outcome of the U.S.
presidential election - not only domestically, but around the globe as well.
Will the political pendulum swing too
far to the left or right? In short, no matter
how elections go in November, our country
and the world's economies have a lot riding
on how well and quickly the U.S. market
is able to recover.

George Kurz, MVP

One of the greatest pleasures I have each
year is to announce the selection of the
annual Most Valuable Professional Award.
I am thrilled to announce that George Kurz

was the unanimous selection by representatives of the Underground Construction
Technology Association and Underground
Construction magazine.
George is a highly respected engineer
residing in Nashville, Tenn. While his work
history is diverse and impressive, it has
been his dedication to flow monitoring
and truly understanding the nature and
implications of infiltration and inflow that
have drawn the most attention. George is a
respected thought leader in these fields.
I first met George in the late '90s. He
was an energetic and enthusiastic engineer
that loved the concept of UCT and wanted
to get involved in the educational program. Submit a paper, I advised him. That
"paper" eventually evolved into a full-scale
workshop that he presented along with his
good friend Pat Stevens who was equally enthused about flow monitoring and impacts.
George's involvement with UCT didn't
stop there. When the RehabZone was
under development, George was one of the
first people to grasp the need and significance of the concept. He was a founding
member of the RehabZone Committee
and still continues to participate in the
event as it approaches its 20th anniversary
in 2021. I'll always remember his sage
guidance. "The importance of good, basic,
unbiased information presented in a
hands-on format is a fabulous opportunity
for industry and can't be underestimated,"
he stressed to the committee during one of
its formative meetings.
George's career is a litany of industry accomplishments and sharing of knowledge.
He's always thinking, always developing,
always considering a better way to accumulate, absorb and interpret data that can be
so important to our industry.
George's commitment to industry education, as well as his dedication to humanity,
is beyond reproach. On behalf of the UCTA
and Underground Construction, we are proud
to honor this great man. *
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Underground Construction - October 2020

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